Highlights
- Apple is going to launch its new product with features
- Apple Inc. recently changed its operating system name from realityOS to xrOS.
Apple Inc. is working hard and ramping up work on a mixed-reality headset, its first major new product category since the Apple Watch, and it has renamed the accompanying software in the latest sign of an approaching debut.
The Apple company is planning to introduce the headset as early as next year, along with a dedicated operating system and app store for 3rd party software, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Internally, the company recently changed the name of the operating system to xrOS from the realityOS, said by the people who did not wish to be identified because the project is still under wraps.
What does the name tell?
The new software name is a signal to the headset’s mixed-reality capabilities. “XR” is meant for extended reality, a term that encompasses both augmented and virtual reality.
Augmented reality generally overlays graphics and virtual information over the real world.
While virtual reality is an all-encompassing experience for watching videos and gaming.
Owner of Facebook and Instagram
Apple’s push into the market sets it up for a showdown with Meta Platforms Inc., here, the owner of Facebook and Instagram, which is betting on the metaverse in part to decrease its reliance on Apple devices.
The move is also part of a long-term search for Apple’s next big thing. The Apple Watch was presented in 2015. Now generates more than 10 percent of its sales which is contributing $41.2 billion in the last fiscal year.
However, a representative for Cupertino, California-based Apple had declined to comment on its headset plans.
What is the new thing about these AR and VR?
As per the offering of both AR and VR technologies, Apple’s new headset takes a different tack than most existing models from companies like HTC Crop and Meta.
But the main thing that comes is that does have a newer headset, named Quest Pro, that blends the two approaches very well.
What is the Mixed-reality operating system?
The mixed-reality operating system will normally offer a new version of core apps such as Messages and Maps and this mixed-reality operating system will work with a software development kit that third parties can use to create their own games and apps, according to Bloomberg news.
Which company is developing the headset?
Technology Development Group is the company wherein headsets and their accompanying operating system and apps are developed.
It is a secretive unit that is led by Executive Mike Rockwell. Geoff Stahl has overseen the operating system, he is the senior engineering manager, who has led work on graphics software and gaming.